Tech Tuesday: Google Chrome Extensions

I noticed quite a few searches for Google Chrome extensions on my blog, so it started me wondering about what is actually available. I already have the Ancestry Family Search Extension and the Geni.com app, but there are a few that I hadn’t known about before taking a closer look. Here is a list of what I found, and a brief summary of the capabilities.

23++ is an extension that adds functions to 23andme.com. The functions include a message waiting indicator, a status report (have you completed your profile?), info about the number of surnames you have in your profile, whether relative finder is public or not, and real-time filtering of your news feed.

This is not an official 23andMe extension, nor is it endorsed by 23andMe, which means it’s functionality can be pulled at any time. As of this writing it is free.

I have not signed up for this, even though I do have an account with 23andMe. Although the developers include a privacy and security policy, I’m a bit of a Chicken Little, and my trust only goes so far. If you try it out, please mention your experience in the comments (link near the title of this post) or write about it for us in your own blog and link back to it here.

Notefuser is a sweet Google Chrome extension developed by Jimmy Zimmerman in response to the RootsTech 2012 Developer Challenge. Zimmerman took the grand prize for this extension.

Notefuser gives you the ability to connect your Evernote notes with Geni.com or new.FamilySearch.org person records. The extension gives you the ability to create a new note or research log while in the person records. I can’t wait to try this one out– there is such potential for this extension. Watch a demonstration in this youtube video linked at the geni.com blog.

The Chrome Geni.com app puts a Geni.com icon on your new tab page (which may also be your home page, depending on how you have set up Chrome preferences). When you click on the icon, the app opens a new tab with your geni.com account. If you are not already signed in to geni.com you will need to sign in before you can access your account.

This is another Chrome app that adds an icon to your new tab page which, when clicked, brings you to the Kidlandia website. The website allows you to create a “whimsical family tree” and other personalized gifts.

Our Family Tree is a Google Chrome app that allows you to “build your family tree online and communicate with your family,” which sounds a lot like geni.com, so I haven’t tried this one. Let us know what you think in the comments if you try it out.

This is a much publicized extension that takes the vital information from an Ancestry.com person page and searches FamilySearch.org. The search results are displayed in the extension pop-up. A number of national Ancestry.com sites are supported, as outlined on the details tab for the extension at the Chrome Web Store. This one infuriated me until I finally figured out how to use it. After you install the extension, sign in to Ancestry.com, and go to a profile page for a person in a family tree, you will see a tree icon on the right side of the Google Chrome web address bar. Click on this tree icon and a pop-up window will appear with search results from FamilySearch.

If you’re searching for living relatives of your ancestors, this extension may prove helpful. it gives you the ability to search for both individuals and pages on Facebook with greater search capabilities than the standard Facebook search. You can narrow down searches by age, location, gender, interest, or any combination of traits. The app even allows for searches by IQ score (descendants of Einstein, perhaps?).